More Vermonters are working and looking for work
During the post-holiday spike in Covid cases, many working Vermonters have probably needed sick time. But not all of them have it. A recent report from the Center for Law and Social Policy shows that while Vermont is one of 15 states with paid sick leave laws, access here varies by income level and job status.
Low-wage workers and part-time workers are less likely to have sick leave: 27 percent of those in the lowest quarter of the income scale lack access, compared with 8 percent at the highest end. And three in 10 part-time Vermont workers cannot take time off when they’re ill. But Vermont workers are still better off than their counterparts in most states: Four in 10 low-income workers across the country do not have sick leave, and 44 percent of part-time workers are not covered.
THIS MONTH
Vermont’s unemployment rate ticked up again in December. Since July, the number of unemployed Vermonters rose from 6,300 to more than 7,700.
That’s probably good news. Unemployment is a count of people actively seeking work. The increase could signal that Vermonters have grown more hopeful about finding a job.
In fact, during the same period, the number of people with jobs also rose steadily. So did the labor force—that is, working-age people either working or looking for work. In November, employers reported that they had 19,000 job openings.
